Glory review - 7/8 sailing

[emmysmommy]

We just returned from our Glory cruise and I must say that overall it was great! Thanks to the many folks here that had so much good advice regarding this ship as it was the first Conquest class that we had been on.

 

Embarkation: We arrived using the Raddison shuttle around noon and were escorted thorught the VIP check-in and were on the ship in no time. There were some folks in the VIP lounge who complained that the (non VIP) people they arrived with had already gone through the process of getting checked in and had their sail & sign cards and here they were still sitting there (in a nice, comfortable, air-conditioned, cushy chair adorned private lounge!) Well, I don't think they complained when they got escorted to the front of the line for their embarkation because that saved us about a half hour wait. :)

 

Cabin: We were in stateroom 7275, category 11 mini-suite and it was identical to the category 11 we had on the Miracle. The only noticable difference was the balcony, which was narrower than the Miracle's. No big dea, it still had 3 chairs and 2 small tables. The bed was very comfortable!

 

The back cushions for the couch were missing so I searched the room for them and found them under the bed. Odd, I thought, until the cabin steward (Antonio) told me that he was storing them there since our DD was sleeping on the sofa which made into a twin bed! Oops! I was already interferring - something I'm famous for!

 

The TV was tuned to Denver stations - so we were up on the local Denver happenings and weather.

 

Food: Well, this is one area that I'm not hard to please! :p I literally ate 4 meals a day (and my waistline proves it!) We ate in the Platinum dining room every evening except one, when we were in the reservation supper club. The food was good, not excellent, but I was pleased. There was always something on the menu that interested me. The desserts were good - especially the Grand Marnier Souffle. Oh my, that was awesome!

 

Our server, Danilo, was exceptional. The bar service seemed to be slow in the dining room. I ordered a cocktail once that never arrived - but they got everyone elses drink order correct so I must not have needed that drink!

 

We typically ate in the dining room for breakfast although we did order room service a few mornings. Room service seemed to arrive about 20 minutes before the time noted on my menu card. By the third morning, I just wrote 7:30 am since I figured they would come early anyway. Ok, let me just say that when you are up early thinking of the tasty raspberry danishes and getting hungrier by the minute, it seems to take forever for room service to arrive. Well, this morning, they arrived exactly as stated!

 

One note about the location of the Platinum dining room..... I was sooo confused the first couple of days. You have to go up to deck 5, proceed all the way aft, then go down 2 floors. I had to rely on my DH to get me to the dining room since I'm directionally challenged!

 

Supper Club: The Emerald Room had exceptional service and the finest selections of the steaks, fish/seafood, and veal. I had the NY strip steak and it was twice as much as I could eat! The onion soup my daughter ordered was superb. I had the shrimp cocktail for a starter and it was great. This was a great evening.

 

Photos: I don't know how many folks budget this into their vacation, but I'm a sucker for some great family pix. We had photos taken almost every night and I purchased at least 2 or 3 photos each time (maybe more if my husband's not reading this! :p ) We had some great formal evening photos. Saimai from Thailand did an excellent job with the piano photos!

 

Excusions: We booked two of our three excusions through Carnival. The third we did on our own.

 

Nassau: The fist was the Catamaran Snorkel. in Nassau We barely made this excusion since I was a bit confused on where to meet the group (all I had to do was look at the ticket in my hand and it told us where to go - seems simple right?) A security guard with the port authority helped us locate our group and we got right on the boat no problem. They take you out a ways and let you snorkel near a reef. There were not a lot of fish to see but the water was great.

 

St. Thomas:

Our second excusion booked through Carnival was the Megan's Bay and Paradise Point tour on St. Thomas. We really enjoyed this excursion! The views from Paradise Point were incredible. Megan's Bay was a bit crowded since there were 4 cruise ships in port that day. However, there was plenty of room to throw you towel and stuff down on the beach and stake a piece of sand. Thw water was warm and beautiful. There was a restaurant on the beach and there was a vendor renting chairs and water mats. Following our 2 hours at the beach, we were taken to the viewing area by the tram skyway thingie. It had an even better view of the harbor and there were shops and restaurants on site. They excusion provided a free drink at the bar.

 

St. Maarten:

This was our favorite port. :D We only were able to see the Dutch side of the island though so I can't comment on the island as a whole. We did the Lord Sheffield sailing ship excusion which was a 5 hour trip. (I wrote a separate review for this on the ports of call board.)

 

Shows: We saw a couple of the shows in the lounge - the singers were better than I anticipated. The dancers were also very good. The magician/illusionist was awesome.

 

The cruise director, Greg Hutson, was good. This was his last cruise as he is moving on to work for CBS in the states.

 

Camp Carnival: Our daughter only used Camp Canival twice in addition to the slumber party which she really enjoyed. The charge is $26 for the party and you need to sign up ahead of time. (I believe it is discounted for additional children in the same family.) It is for the 9 year olds and older. They move the kids around to different activities in different lounges every hour. At 3:30, they deliver the children to their cabins and the parents "sign" for them confirming they made it back to the correct stateroom safe and sound.

 

Debarkation: Sheesh...LONG that's all I can say. Most folks elected to do self assist. Our color tag was called at noon. Customs seemed to take a long time this morning. At least we had a comfortable place to sit and wait.

 

Overall, we really enjoyed our week on the Glory. The ports were amazing and the staff were great. I would definitely recommend this ship.

 

Happy Sailing! :D

[GatorGirl13]

Thank you so much for accomodating my request for a review from the other thread -- I really appreciate it! Going over now to read your review on the port of calls board -- thanks again!

 

Lynda

[emmysmommy]

You are welcome! :D

[Knights on the Beach]

I enjoyed your review of the Glory -- one of my favorite ships so far!

[chefmikki]

Thanks for posting a review on the Glory. I haven't found many and I am leaving in 75 days on her for the same trip. Can't wait.

[stevesgirl1111]

Thanks for the thorough review! We are getting married on the Glory in Nov. and can't wait! I have a pretty silly questions for you...you said that you received Denver stations while on board correct? Do you know if you got CBS? The reason I'm asking is that my fiance and I are die hard Broncos fans and we are playing the Raiders the week of our cruise. We are hoping to catch the game. :o Our first date was a Broncos game and we have watched every game together since! Thanks again!

[emmysmommy]

Thanks for the thorough review! We are getting married on the Glory in Nov. and can't wait! I have a pretty silly questions for you...you said that you received Denver stations while on board correct? Do you know if you got CBS? The reason I'm asking is that my fiance and I are die hard Broncos fans and we are playing the Raiders the week of our cruise. We are hoping to catch the game. :o Our first date was a Broncos game and we have watched every game together since! Thanks again!

 

That's not a silly question at all! All the major network stations have been on both our cruises - including CBS. You will not always get a Denver station. I believe we had a Pittsburgh on our Miracle cruise. If you don't see the game on your in-cabin TV, you might try the sports lounge.

 

Best wishes on your upcoming wedding!

[LizaMM]

thanks for your review! Gkad to hear that you had a great cruise! My Glory cruise was fantastic and I am always looking for a cruise "fix"!!